Dissident republican in legal bid to get out of prison
A top dissident republican wanted over an alleged arms smuggling plot has launched a High Court bid to be released from custody in Northern Ireland.
Liam Campbell, one of the men held to be responsible for the Omagh bombing, is seeking an order that he is being held unlawfully at Maghaberry Prison.
His lawyers combined their request for a writ of Habeas Corpus with an attempt to quash a decision to have extradition proceedings against him heard in Belfast rather than continue in Dublin.
The 46-year-old from Upper Faughart, Dundalk, Co Louth, is wanted in Lithuania over a suspected operation to acquire and ship guns, ammunition and explosives from the eastern European state to Ireland.
Last month, Campbell and three other men were found liable for the Omagh atrocity following a landmark civil action brought by relatives of some of the 29 people killed in the August 1998 blast.
Campbell was arrested in south Armagh in May after crossing the border to take his wife to work.
Earlier this month Belfast Recorder Tom Burgess ruled that extradition proceedings should take place in Northern Ireland because Lithuania wanted the case to be heard in the UK.
But seeking leave to apply for a judicial review, Campbell’s barrister Edward Fitzgerald QC yesterday argued Judge Burgess had got it wrong.
After hearing both sides Lord Justice Higgins and Mr Justice McCloskey reserved judgment.
